Beijing temperature may plunge to lowest in 30 years

Beijing: Temperatures in the Chinese capital city of Beijing could plunge to the lowest in almost three decades over the weekend, weather forecasters have warned.

In the urban areas, temperatures are expected to drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius over the weekend, Xinhua reported.

Beijingers started to feel the freezing weather after a cold spell came in from Siberia Friday night, Wang Hua, chief forecaster of Beijing Meteorological Observatory said.

Chen Dagang, a senior meteorological forecaster at the observatory, said the capital city's lowest temperature in recent decades was minus 15.2 degrees, recorded in 1985.

Wang said in Beijing's mountainous northern suburb, Sunday's temperatures could drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius. However, he said, it would rise again Monday.

On Saturday, fewer people were on Beijing's streets. Not many people were seen at Tiananmen Square, a tourist hot spot.

According to the observatory, Most parts of the country, except the central and southwestern regions, will see temperatures fall by six to eight degrees Celsius in the next three days. Some parts of north and northeast China will witness a drop of 10 to 14 degrees Celsius.